Guru Gita Slokas - 11 and 12

Hare Krishna,

Till now we have seen the nature of the Guru, being all pervading,in the entire universe in both living and non-living.The capability of the guru to remove ignorance and remove us from bondages of this samsaara.He imparts us the utmost knowledge of aatma jnaana. He is of the nature of brahman.The last three slokas from now speak about the importance of a guru and considered to be very significant among all the slokas.

Sloka -11

Na guroradhikam bhaavam na guroradhikam tapah
tattvajnanaat param naasthi tasmai sree gurave namaha

Words Meaning
Na guroradhikam -- no more than a Guru
bhaavam --- contemplation
tapah --- penance
tattvajnanaat --- the truth of ultimate reality

Explanation
There is no higher means of contemplation than contemplating on the guru. There is nothing higher than worshipping the guru, there is no higher object of contemplation than the Guru.Surrendering to the Guru,serving him in all ways,being with him is considered greater than doing penance for many years.Because only a Guru can impart us the truth of ultimate reality.Without the Guru a person cannot get the knowledge of ultimate reality.

To such a guru who imparts self-knowledge and who is the greatest object of worship and serving whom alone one can get the knowledge of ultimate reality.

In next sloka we see the knowledge gained by surrendering to the Guru . It speaks about the knowledge imparted by the Guru.It also mentions the stages a person undergoes to know the ultimate reality.

Sloka -12

Mannatha sree jagannatha madguru sree jagatguru
madaatmaa sarvabhootaatma tasmai sree guravee namaha

Words Meaning
Mannatha --- My lord
jagannatha -- lord of the world
madguru -- My Guru
jagatguru --- Guru to the world
madaatmaa -- My aatma
sarvabhootaatma --- the aatma in all beings

Explanation
My lord is the lord of the world,My guru is the Guru of the world,my aatma is the aatma present in everything in the world.

The lord whom I worship is the lord of the entire world,Who controls the world ,who has control over the maya in the world and he is brahman. This is what a sadhaka or seeker contemplates on initially through sadhana.Once he has a guru, he does vigorous sadhana and comes to know that his Guru is brahman and he is the Guru of the entire world.He gains knowledge from the Guru and through aparoskhaanubhuti realizes that he is the aatma who is all pervading, i.e he is brahman himself.So from duality that he is different from the ruler and controller of the world, a seeker through the grace of the guru understands TAT TVAM ASI statement.Thus he gets self realisation.

To such a guru who imparts Knowledge and who is the Guru of the entire universe and who guides me in the path of self-realization ,I offer my prostrations.

Hare Krishna,
Aparna